PLANS to build a cycleway and footpath as part of a park on the site of a disused East Lancashire railway line have been given a boost by Burnley Council.

The proposals could transform the former Padiham branch line, which closed in 1993, into a park that follows the line of the railway.

The landscaped park, likely to cost between £500,000 and £1m, would incorporate a cycleway and footpath initially stretching from Rosegrove junction to the edge of the borough at Shuttleworth Mead.

It is hoped the scheme, run in partnership with Burnley Borough Council, Lancashire County Council and sustainable transport charity Sustrans, would eventually be extended to Great Harwood and form part of the National Cycle Route.

Before work could begin on the project, the Strategic Rail Authority would have to grant permission to decommission the line which, although it is not used, is still classed as operational because the tracks remain. The closure is likely to take around six months.

The majority of funding for the project would come from the county council's land reclamation programme, Remade, which receives funding from the North West Development Agency.

But Burnley council has given the scheme a leg-up with an early contribution of £44,000.

Sustrans will use some of the cash to pay for negotiations and legal fees to lease the land from current owners Network Rail.

Remade programme manager Guy Kenyon said the programme was looking at transforming 90 sites across the county and this site was a priority.